Which to use
“étang” is a noun and “étend” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,159
- “étang” frequency rank
- #5,002
- “étend” frequency rank
- 16161
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étang | étend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grand amas d’eau retenu par une chaussée naturelle ou artificielle. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de étendre. |
Same sound, different letters: étang vs étend
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - étang / étend
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: étang and étend carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.tɑ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16161, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étang is recorded at frequency rank #11,159, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.tɑ̃\. étend is at rank #5,002, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɑ̃\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 16161, this pair ranks #389,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étang vs étend
Shared letters: nté. Private to "étang": ag. Private to "étend": de.
"étang" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC · "étend" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "étang" for "étend" ever safe?
Frequency check: "étang" vs "étend" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"étang" and "étend" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "étang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étang" and "étend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étai vs étang". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #389,092 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.